Aerodynamic suits kept Olympic speed skaters from winning

US Speedskating cops to several mistakes, including a late suit introduction.

Shani Davis wearing the Under Armour suit in question, in the race that placed him eighth overall.

NBC

A new internal assessment of the speed skating suits worn by the US team in the Olympic Games shows they contributed to the team's general poor performance and the long track teams' inability to medal, according to a report Thursday from TheWall Street Journal. The suits were designed by Under Armour and had not been tested in competition prior to the Olympics.

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The Journal asserted back in February that the Mach 39 suits were suspected of slowing down the skaters due to a back vent designed to release heat. At the time, those involved were speculating that the vent was also letting air into the suits, creating drag and pulling the skaters up and out of the preferred low stance. The team was allowed to switch back to the Under Armour suits that were used successfully in the World Cup halfway through the Olympics competition.

The suits were developed in partnership with Lockheed Martin and reportedly tested in wind tunnels on fiberglass dummies. However, none of the team members had worn them, let alone trained in them, before Sochi.

The suits were just one of a few factors that US Speedskating cited for the teams' losses. Another problem was the fact that the team trained at high altitudes in Italy, a condition meant to help endurance, but which ended up hiding "a dip in form," wrote the Journal. US Speedskating also blamed a new skate polish that the team started using right before the games began.